Dinkins Asks for Racial Unity And Offers to Mediate Boycott

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In a rare live television speech from a packed City Council chamber last night, Mayor David N. Dinkins appealed to New Yorkers for racial unity and said he would do ''whatever is necessary'' to maintain public order and safety.

Invoking his personal prestige and the weight of his office, he proposed a series of measures intended to ease racial tensions and said he would involve himself and members of his administration resolving and preventing such disputes around the city.

Specifically, he said he was ''personally prepared to mediate'' a black-led boycott of Korean-American grocery stores in Brooklyn, and added, as he had in the past, that he was opposed to boycotts on a racial basis.

'Look Honestly at Yourselves'

At the same time, with juries in Brooklyn deliberating the Bensonhurst racial murder case, Mr. Dinkins urged clergymen and politicians to exhort their communities to ''join in an affirmation of tolerance and respect.''

''We will never allow any group or any person to turn to violence or the threat of violence to intimidate others, no matter how legitimate their anger or frustration may be,'' said Mr. Dinkins, who had asked local stations for television time for the speech. Four stations carried the entire 25-minute address live, while others broadcast parts live or the whole later.

''Right now, each of you must look into your own hearts, in your own families,'' he added. ''Look honestly at yourselves - and your own communities -and ask whether you can be swayed by prejudice, and what you're going to do about it. Because no matter how much government can do, government cannot substitute for the content of our character.''

He said he would press for measures to develop small businesses, hold workshops on consumer rights, stiffen penalties for hate crimes and foster understanding.

The Mayor's appeal ended a week in which he had faced increasing pressure from supporters and critics alike to make a strong, personal statement on racial tensions, in light of the Korean grocery dispute, the Bensonhurst trial and other incidents.

The speech, combining themes from his campaign and inaugural address, was suggested by his chief political aide, Deputy Mayor Bill Lynch, and drafted by his chief speechwriter, John Siegal, with contributions from Andrew Cuomo, Deputy Mayor Norman Steisel, Ken Sunshine, a senior mayoral adviser, and others.

He drew the most sustained applause - and a standing ovation from the invited audience of political, business, labor, church and community leaders - as he urged the media to join in efforts to foster tolerance.

Mr. Dinkins's aides said he chose to make the speech at such an unusual time in the hope it could be delivered before a verdict in the Bensonhurst case, in which a black teen-ager was slain last year by a gang of whites.

Surreal Air at City Hall

By speaking before a verdict, whatever it was, the aides suggested, Mr. Dinkins could avoid the appearance of reacting only after the fact, and thereby perhaps avoid the criticism he has faced in the grocery boycott that he had not been active enough.

For much of the brilliant spring afternoon, City Hall had a surreal air, with a half dozen television trucks parked at the gate, their portable antennae sprouting amid the trees along Park Row. Government officials, politicians and veteran reporters said they could recall no comparable appeal by a New York City mayor. By the time Mr. Dinkins arrived shortly before 7 P.M., after a day in Washington at his 40th college reunion at Howard University, crowds were milling throughout the building.

For the speech, 500 guests filled the Council chamber, while 300 sat in the Board of Estimate chamber down the hall and 200 more in the Blue Room downstairs, said the Mayor's press secretary, Albert Scardino.

Mr. Dinkins, surrounded by senior city officials, using of a teleprompter and speaking in the calm, unvarying tone that is his hallmark, said he could not affect the juries' decisions, but said the legal system was ''still the fairest and best method of judging our fellow citizens that anyone has ever come up with in the history of humanity.''

''But,'' he added, to applause, ''one thing is for sure: No verdict can undo the damage that was done on that devastating night last August. The hate that was unleashed on Yusuf Hawkins can never be called back. The pain that ripped through his body, his family and this city can never be fully healed. And his sacrifices must never be forgotten.

'We Must Repress Our Rage'

''This was a crime committed by individuals,'' he added, sounding a past theme. ''All of Bensonhurst did not commit this crime; rather, a few people committed this crime in Bensonhurst. We must absolutely, categorically reject the notion of group guilt. We abhor those who preach it, and we must be mindful that predictions of violence and anger tend to be self-fulfilling.''

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He said he hoped the defendants in the case would ''feel the strong arm of the law.''

''But whatever the outcome,'' he added, ''as we have so many times over so many years, we must repress our rage, channel our energies and come together to make this tragedy transforming.''

In the case of the grocery boycott, which was sparked in January by a dispute between a store manager at the Red Apple grocery at 1823 Church Avenue and a black female customer, Mr. Dinkins said, in his strongest condemnation of the boycott: ''Whatever happened in that incident did not warrant this sort of ongoing intimidation.

''Boycotts can be an appropriate and effective response, but this one is not and the vast majority of the people in that community know it.''

''I call upon all involved to set aside their intransigence, to come in, to sit down, to settle this, and to settle it now,'' said the Mayor, who until last night had been trying to resolve the dispute mostly through aides.

''My personal commitment is absolute,'' he added. ''I will bear any burden, and walk any mile - and I am confident that we will be able to settle this situation through mediation and conciliation.''

Mr. Dinkins sketched general initiatives intended to diminish such disputes in the future, including seminars for retailers on consumer rights, recognizing that ''some Korean-Americans, new to the ways of their new world, may mistakenly offend others or overreact to what they perceive as provocation.''

'Find Tensions'

He said he would continue to press for a state law to stiffen penalties for hate crimes, which has been blocked in the State Senate by opponents who object to including sexual orientation as a protected category, and to consult with the city's five district attorneys about gangs and seek passage of a local law against group violence.

Mr. Dinkins said he has also asked the city's Human Rights Commission to conduct ''a systematic study of discrimination in lending, and a survey of the real needs of community-based businesses'' and to enhance its efforts in communities ''to find tensions and stop problems before they start.''

Even as Mr. Dinkins appealed for harmony, he ruffled some feathers by speaking on the Jewish sabbath. Councilman Noach Dear of Brooklyn, saying he was ''shocked and hurt'' sent a letter asking him to postpone the speech. Mr. Dinkins began his remarks with an apology ''to those who are unable to attend due to religious observance.''

After the speech, the Rev. Calvin O. Butts 3d, pastor of the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem said: ''It was exactly the kind of strong message that should have been delivered months ago. I just hope it wasn't just a speech,'' but will be followed by initiatives and personal visits.

City Council President Andrew J. Stein said it was a good speech and he was ''hopeful that it'll heal the city,'' while Comptroller Elizabeth Holtzman said she hoped ''it works to calm people's fears.''

Sandra Feldman, president of the United Federation of Teachers, and a Dinkins supporter said ''People themselves have to take responsibility - it can't rest on the Mayor's shoulders.'' Stanley Hill, executive director of the District Council 37 municipal workers union, said: ''Came from the heart -gives us that extra lift.''

City Council Speaker Peter F. Vallone of Queens said the speech was ''appropriate'' and that ''the Mayor's call to do what we can, in and out of government, to promote harmony is the right thing to say at the right time. We will redouble our efforts.'' Representative Floyd H. Flake, a Queens Democrat, said the Mayor ''realized he has a city that sits on a tinderbox.''

At the Korean-American grocery store in Flatbush last night, about 100 demonstrators had a mixed reaction to the speech. For much of the day, they had stood immediately outside the store, despite a judge's ruling ordering them to move 50 feet away. The police did not try to move them farther away.

Standing across the street, Ivan King, a Flatbush resident, praised the speech because it called ''for harmony between our people, black, white or Asian, wherever you come from.''

''This affair, this is not racism,'' he said of the boycott. ''It's something building up. Dave Dinkins can settle it.''

Correction: May 13, 1990

Sunday, Late Edition - Final An article yesterday on a speech given by Mayor David N. Dinkins inaccurately described a comment he made about the killing of Yusuf K. Hawkins in Brooklyn. The Mayor said he hoped ''those individuals responsible for the death of Yusuf Hawkins will feel the strong arm of the law.''

A version of this article appears in print on May 12, 1990, on Page 1001001 of the National edition with the headline: Dinkins Asks for Racial Unity And Offers to Mediate Boycott. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe